Idaho Firefighter Shooting Connected to 2001 Fire at Aryan Nation Compound, Internet Sleuths Claim

The deadly ambush that killed two firefighters in Idaho over the weekend has sparked speculation online, as internet sleuths point to its timing on the anniversary of a pivotal moment in the region's dark history.

Wess Roley, 20, died by apparent suicide after deliberately setting a blaze on Canfield Mountain near Coeur d'Alene, allegedly luring firefighters to respond to the scene only to shoot at them. The attack occurred on Sunday, 24 years after local firefighters burned down the infamous Aryan Nations compound in nearby Hayden Lake as part of a training exercise.

The compound, once led by neo-Nazi Richard Butler, had been seized and sold in bankruptcy after the Southern Poverty Law Center successfully sued Butler and his group over a violent attack on a Native American woman and her son. On June 28–29, 2001, the Coeur d'Alene fire department demolished the hate group's buildings in a two-day training.

"There's a very long history of the Aryan Nation in Couer d'Alene, but even just recently, you can go back and see instances where these groups have been emboldened," TikToker Bekah Day said in a video. "Like last February when Patriot Front came to cause a riot at a gay pride event and completely got away with it."

"I do not think it is a coincidence," one user posted on X, noting the date overlap. Another added that it could be "Richard Butler ppl laying stake."

While the Aryan Nations collapsed after Butler's death in 2004 and has shown no verified activity in recent years, the incident's eerie timing near the former site has fueled speculation about a possible revenge motive.

But Kootenai County Commissioner Bruce Mattare rejected any connection between Sunday's violent blaze and white supremacist groups.

"To me, it's such an unfair characterization of this community, given the fact that these things occurred decades ago," Mattare told the Idaho Statesmen. "It just — it doesn't exist here."

Despite Mattare's rejection of links to extremism and the community's efforts to reject hate organizations, the area's dark past is not so distant. The Aryan Freedom Network, a white supremacist group, held a rally at Hayden Lake just over three years ago, in March 2022. While blatant displays of white supremacy have decreased in recent years, experts warn that hate groups are able to operate more covertly than in the past, utilizing the internet to recruit and organize.

Still, authorities have not publicly linked the shooter to any extremist ideology, and so far, there is no evidence that the attack was politically motivated.